The Lost Chapter of The Princess and the Spider
by Lucky and Witty Number18
Summary: A oneshot prize for the amazing writer Strix Moonwing. It's a lost chapter to her story The Princess and the Spider, where the rest of cast gets caught in the magic and everyone faces a new danger that could spell doom for everyone they love!
1. Chapter 1

The Lost Chp of The Princess and the Spider

A/N: 'Sup all my Total Drama Fan friends! I know you guys are waiting for the next chps of my Spooktacular and It takes two to tango. For the latter story, I just updated and you guys gave me some really nice reviews, but I'm need to get back to Spooktacular because people have been waiting for an update for it for quite a while. For Spooktacular, I've been mapping out the plot for next chp as well as writing a song for the ending (although that isn't until much later). Anyway, this oneshot is because my good friend Strix Moonwing won my March 14th Pi Day Contest (insert Kermit the Frog flailing around going YAY!). I asked her what she would like for her prize and she said that she'd like to see the return of Spider Duncan and Courtney from her phenomenal fanfic The Princess and the Spider, which is one of the best Total Drama stories on this website in my humble opinion. To be honest, when I first received this request I was a little nervous, just because I realized that I was going to have to work with animals in this oneshot, which I have not done before. I told Strix my concerns, but she reminded me that with nothing ventured, there is nothing gained. So here it is Strixy, and I only hope that it live up to the source material! As for you other readers, it may help to read Strix's story (which is in my favorites if you need a link) and insert this oneshot somewhere in the middle of Chp 20 (Showdown with the Shadow). You'll notice that Strix refers to the idea behind this oneshot at the end of that chapter and most of the animals that the cast will be turning into were the ones SHE originally had in mind (I asked her). So without further ado here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama OR The Princess and the Spider. Wow, I really need to start owning stuff.

Chp 20 ½ : Call of the Wawanakwa

The possessed dolls began advancing towards the terrified campers, with evil glares shining on their button eyes. The Courtney doll approached the Duncan doll and wrapped her small cloth arms seductively around his waist as her own mouth became unstitched. As the string fell from her mouth, she let out a high-pitched giggle that sent shivers down the spines of the entire cast.

Just as the Duncan doll's had the same voice as Duncan, albeit with a darker, crueler tone, Courtney's doll sounded similar to the original, although her voice seemed both shriller and raspier.

The Courtney doll rested her head on the Duncan doll's shoulder and purred, "_Daaarrrling_, these pathetic humans _BORE_ me so. It would simply be _MUCH_ too easy to devour their souls. Shan't we have a little _ENTERTAINMENT_ before our meal?"

The Duncan doll's button eyes flashed with recognition as he caught on to what his depraved darling was thinking. The doll let out a coarse chuckle as he said, "Ah my pet, you truly are one of the most spiteful, heinous, and malignant minds in all of the underworld."

"Flattery will get you _EVERYWHERE_," she purred, before let out another shrieking cackle.

The Duncan doll turned to the other dolls and barked, "You heard your mistress! She would like some **entertainment** before we dine!"

The other demon-possessed dolls weren't smiling anymore and some seemed to be grumbling. They were all for scaring the humans, but they come to EAT, not to play, but then again… such opportunities rarely came up in their line of work. Moreover, there was a legend in the underworld that a soul was much more satisfying if it had been thoroughly entrenched in fear before it was devoured.

All the dolls shot into the air and began to glow a sickly green color. Suddenly, all of the cast-mates except Duncan and Courtney rose into the air as well.

Bridgette cried, "Geoff, what's happening?"

"I don't know Bridge! Just stay calm! No monsters are going to hurt you while I'm around!" shouted Geoff, although he looked equally terrified.

A slightly reassured look appeared on Bridgette's face as she took some solace in what her boyfriend said, but the comfort was short-lived as each of the contestants was coated in a green light that both Duncan and Courtney both registered as very familiar.

Suddenly a series of "poofs" seemed to explode in the air, and the cast-mates shot back down towards the Earth and landed all over the place.

Duncan and Courtney looked on in horror as their friends (and a few enemies) landed on the ground vastly different than when they had left it.

Duncan made his way over of Geoff and shouted, "Geoff? Dude? Are you okay?"

Geoff's eyes fluttered open and he groggily, rubbed his head with three of his arms. Wait… THREE? His eyes shot open as he saw that his "arms" were actually three long pink tentacles, with five others hanging limply at his side to make an even set of eight.

The rest of the cast-mates also seemed to being becoming aware of their new forms, as Geoff heard a scream from his left.

Tyler was looking at where his arms used to be and saw crimson red feathers the same shade of red as his jumpsuit. Instead of hands, he had feathery wings, and when he brought them up to his face, he found a hard yellow beak and a waddle.

Courtney said tentatively, "Tyler, you're a…" but before she could finish her sentence, Tyler began stuttering, "I'm a ch… chi… CHICKEN! AIEEEE!" cried the former jock as he ran around as fast as his drumsticks could carry him, clucking incessantly and molting his feathers quite rapidly.

Courtney remembered that Tyler had said that he had a phobia of chickens in the first season, so she didn't want to imagine what was going through the poor boy's mind now that he WAS the thing he feared.

Geoff felt groggy, but then he remembered something… no… someone telling him that she was afraid… BRIDGETTE! Geoff began to rapidly twist his head around crying, "Bridgette? Bridgey-Bear? Where are you Babe?"

"Under here…" came a muffled reply.

Geoff looked right, then left again, before realizing that the response had come from above, he raised his tentacles and felt that his cowboy hat was still on top of his head. He lifted it off and peered inside to see a starfish with Bridgette's sweet green eyes staring back at him. The starfish was also a sandy shade of yellow that reminded Geoff of Bridgette's soft blonde hair.

"Bridgette? Is that you?"

"I can't tell my arms and legs apart!" the poor girl wailed.

Geoff waved a tentacle before her and said, "I know how you feel."

Duncan looked at the two unsympathetically as he waved his own multiple legs, "Yeah, yeah, join the club Octopus-boy!"

Courtney looked around and said, "Looks like you three were not the only ones who changed either."

The voodoo dolls had mysteriously disappeared into thin air, and besides Tyler, who was still running clucking his head off, Trent also rose from the ground, although he was now a Canadian goose. He flapped his new wings, seeming to get a feel for them before he started twisting his long neck and calling "Gwen? Gwen, where are you?"

"Up here…" came a weak call.

Trent looked up to see a cat black fur and blue stripes that with down the length of her body, clinging tightly to a branch from a nearby tree. She had a tuft of blue hair on her head and Gwen's deep dark eyes.

Without any hesitation, Trent flapped his graceful wings and flew up to the branch. "Climb on," Trent said gently, and Gwen nervously wrapped her front paws around his neck, before he took off and managed to make it down to the ground safely.

Izzy, who had also been in the same tree as Gwen, came scampering down from the branches, but she was now a bright red squirrel. With a chitter she said, "My mom always said that I was a little nuts, but this is ridiculous! By the way, has anyone seen Big O?"

Her head turned as she heard some grunting coming from by the stage. A big pink pig with messy blonde hair was munching on a bunch of mini-hot dogs that had fallen off the refreshment table before this whole mess had happened. The pig raised his head and saw the eyes of more than one of his recently transformed cast-mates staring at him before he said, "What? Inter-species transformation makes me hungry."

"You better MOOOOve over Owen, we've got bigger problems than your appetite," said LeShawna, who made her way over to the others, now with the body a big, brown cow with black spots.

"Fear not fair LeShawna! For I shall break this foul enchantment that turned you into quite a lovely specimen of bovine beauty," cried Harold as he rode on her back like a noble knight on a fine steed. Harold had been transformed into a weasel and was now sporting dark markings around his eyes that looked very similar to his glasses.

"Ugh, stuff it you fur-coat wannabe!" barked Heather, who has been turned into a Doberman Pinscher. Gwen giggled, causing Heather to turn her head and growl, "And what do you find so _funny_ about this?"

A toothy grin spread across Gwen's feline face as she said, "I just find it funny that I've been saying that you were a female dog ever since we met, and now I've finally been proven right!"

Heather looked like she was one second from chasing Gwen back up the tree, when Trent flew between the two of them and said, "We need to see if everyone else is fine… well, relatively speaking."

Trent turned and called, "Anyone else around here?"

From underneath a floorboard, two little gray mice popped up and scurried over to Trent. Both of their ears were black, but they were different in that one was taller and skinnier, while the other was shorter and plumper. They both scampered up to Trent and said, "Here we are Trent!"

The plump mouse turned to the thin one and said, "Omigosh Katie! I was SO scared when those demon-thingies changed everybody…"

"I know! I was totally scared too! That's why I'm SO glad Trent is here! Even as a goose, he's SO strong, brave, and handsome!"

A dark look came over Gwen's face and she hissed, "Back off, before I turn you both into appetizers!"

The two mousy girls squeaked and clung to each other in fear, while Trent shot Gwen a curious look. The black cat down her head and began to fiddle with her whiskers as she murmured, "Um, they were getting on my nerves."

"Pssh whatever, it's not like that that bird-brain is as handsome as me, and I'll even take this look any day compared to having to walk around with _Duncan's_ face, " said Justin as he emerged from the bushes as a beautiful, royal blue peacock.

Katie and Sadie looked at Justin, then Trent, then back to Justin before silently agreeing between themselves and scampering over to Justin, fawning over him just like they had been fawning over Trent just moments ago.

Justin basked in their worship and sighed, "Ah my public, how I have missed you so."

The cast heard some chirping and looked up to see a little brown bird with gliding towards them. The sparrow had feathers on her breast that were an odd shade of green, and a tuft of feathers on her head that stuck out like a side ponytail. Beth landed and hopped over to the rest of the cast and chirped, "I'm here!"

"Is it over?" came a trembling voice from near the bleachers. A long neck, followed by an even taller body came into view as DJ crept towards the others, failing horribly at trying to make his new ostrich body seem as small as possible.

Courtney did a quick head count and said, "Hm, we're only missing Cody, Zeke, Lindsay, Noah, and Eva."

All of the cast-mates then jumped one foot in the air as they heard a blood-curdling scream.

Out from the bushes leaped a young deer with two beavers and a hare on his back. Behind was a black wolf with copper colored eyes. DJ took one look at the wolf before he shrieked and jumped behind LeShawna's cow body for protection. Gwen saw that the young buck happened to have buck teeth and she cried, "Cody?"

Cody turned his head and saw the strange gathering of animals staring at him.

"Guys?" he called, still not slowing down, which turned out not to be such a good idea as he soon realized when he slammed headfirst into the stage.

Cody collapsed and seemed to be dazed, while the animals on his back rolled, seemingly disoriented by the impact as well.

The contestants suddenly heard a gruff voice, "I told that loser to slow down, but it's not like anybody listens to me anyway."

Duncan raised an eyebrow as he turned to the black wolf and asked, "Eva? Is that you?"

"What was your first clue genius?" Eva spat as she laid down on the floor.

Out of the animals that had been riding Cody, the hare was the first to rise.

She had sunny, yellow fur and a bright blue bandana tied around her head, pulling her ears back so that they resemble tresses on golden hair. She took a quick look around and saw all the other animals staring at her, then said in a groggy voice, "Daddy, why are we at the zoo?"

Despite still being in a foul mood after having become a fowl, Tyler pushed through the others and made his way towards the hare. He stared at her large blue eyes and asked in a weak voice, "Lindsay, is that you?"

Lindsay's long ears perked up slightly in recognition of her name. She turned to Tyler and said, "T… T…"

Tyler nodded his head excitedly and said, "Yes Lindsay! It's me, it's T…"

"TALKING CHICKENS? Wow! This is one great zoo!"

All the excitement faded from Tyler's face, as Lindsay continued to stare at him with a blissfully naïve expression on her face. The blonde bunny continued, "By the way, Mr. Chicken, have you seen my boyfriend Tyler?"

The blankness from Tyler's face began to be replaced with rage and it look like the young rooster would let loose a stream of curses that would even make a sailor blush, but once again he was cut off by Lindsay who said, "I really hope he's alright. I miss him so badly."

Upon hearing this Tyler froze, then downed his head with a rather defeated look upon his face, his eyes rose to meet those of the beautiful hare and he said in a sad voice, "Yeah, I saw him a little while ago… he… he told me to watch over you until he got back."

"Really? That was so sweet of him! I hope he comes back really soon!"

"Yeah, me too Linds… Me too."

Tyler turned and made his way back to the rest of the cast with Lindsay happily bouncing behind him.

Cody also rose to his feet, although quite shakily, in a way that Courtney thought kind of reminded her of Bambi.

Cody made his way of to the others and whispered, "Is that bloodthirsty beast still chasing us?"

Duncan cocked an eyebrow and said, "Relax, it was only Eva."

"Eva! That makes it worst! She would probably scare normal wolves!"

"Hey, I heard that!" Eva growled from where she was laying, causing Cody to let out a tiny shriek before jumping for protection behind LeShawna.

Finally, the two beavers rose to their feet, but when the cast got a good look at both of them, they saw that one of them wasn't a beaver at all.

The first beaver to approach the others was Ezekiel, who ran up to the others crying, "Guys! I think the demons really messed up Noah, eh! They turned us all into animals, but they turned him into some type of weird mutant beast!"

"For that last time…" Noah cried in an exasperated tone as he finally approached the others, "I'm not a mutant beaver! I'm a platypus!"

"Bless you," said Ezekiel, none the wiser.

"That's not a sneeze you moron! I'm a duck-billed platypus!"

"Oh, so you're a freaky bird then!"

"I'm not a bird, I'm a mammal!"

"So you don't lay eggs?"

"Well technically platypuses can lay eggs…"

"So, you are a bird then! Though you look kind of chubby to be a bird, eh."

Ezekiel turned to the others and said, "Poor fella, those demon things probably scrambled up his brains."

"For the last time, I am NOT a bird!" Noah cried in a huff, and then murmured under his breath, "And I'm not chubby either," though as he said this, he self-consciously sucked in his little platypus belly.

"Bout time you maggots managed to herd yourselves together! You'd think you were all newbies like back in Season 1!" called out Chef's voice.

All of the transformed teens looked around, trying to find the large, angry black man, but to their surprise, they heard his voice say, "Down here!"

The cast looked down and before them stood a rather muscular, dark grey rat staring up at them. Courtney asked, "Chef? They got you too?"

"Yep, just like back in the Amazon. They managed to pull a little voodoo on Chris too," said Chef, before he reached behind him and yanked a large squirming leech with sharp teeth off of his back.

The cast let out a collective, "Ewww…" before the leech turned his head to face them and said, "What? As if you guys look better!"

The cast saw that the leech had long dark hair and familiar beady little eyes. Duncan eyes flashed with recognition before he asked with a chuckle, "Chris, is that you? Hehe, geez, it couldn't have happened to a better guy."

"Can it delinquent," the wriggling host shot back, "before I have Chef latch me onto you and I drain your bodily fluids."

Duncan slightly retched in mouth at the mental image, while Courtney turned to Chef and asked, "Chef, you have the most experience out of all of us with the occult. The demons said the wanted 'entertainment' before everyone, but then they disappeared. Why would they do that?"

Chef looked grave as he answered, "Demons are considered the predators of the underworld. They would gladly rip a human soul to shreds, but sometimes if they have enough power, they like to 'play' with their food before they eat."

Courtney's voice took on a shaky quality as she asked, "What you mean 'play'?"

A dark, familiar voice responded, "The large vermin is referring to the exquisite joy… of the HUNT!"

A dark cloud formed over the cast and the voodoo dolls from before fell down from its depths, like droplets of rain.

As the dolls hit the ground, they fell on their sides, completely limp and their stitched mouths ripped open.

Courtney looked at the dolls, but then a shrill voice called out, "Those pathetic vessels are no longer of use to us."

Courtney looked up and saw the voices were coming from the dark cloud itself. The deeper of the two voices from the cloud said, "The transformation curse we placed on your pathetic friends cost us a lot of energy and a bit of time, but it was well worth it to get these."

From out of the cloud, two shapes began to take form, one was looked like the upper torso of a boy, but with six arms, while the other looked like a girl, but her hair was whipping back and forth like a bunch of hissing serpents.

Duncan and Courtney looked on in horror as they both recognized that, despite the obvious difference, these two figures greatly resembled themselves, where the six-armed shadow boy had a smokey Mohawk and the girl with the whipping hair had a bunch of freckles on her nose.

Courtney tried to stay brave, but every fiber of her spider body was screaming for her run in the opposite direction from these monstrosities. She suddenly felt a warmth on her shoulder and turned to she Duncan standing right beside, giving her a tender, comforting look before he turned to face the demons.

He said in a defiant tone, "You guys were those dolls that looked like us before? Why the sudden change? Did you want to see if you could get any uglier?"

The teen demons smirked and each placed a hand on their chests, and then slowly withdrew them. As the hands got farther away from the demons' chests, a bright light seem to emerge from within them.

The male demon looked down at Duncan and said, "Foolish arachnid! These lights represent what you and your friends have lost. Your human essence! Unlike the soul, which is the core of one's being, the human essence is linked to the body. If a demon manages to take the human essence from a victim, said victim is reduced to the form of an animal, while the demon no longer needs a pathetic vessel like those wretched dolls. With your human essence, we can create lovely bodies," the demon purred the final point as he wrapped one of his many arms around his partner.

The demoness flirtatiously cackled, then continued, "Not only can we create bodies from your human essence, but we can also use these new forms to have some… _fun_. I do believe after we have hunted you all down, we will transform ourselves into your duplicates and return to have some MORE fun with your families."

"No!" shrieked DJ, who was still cowering behind LeShawna, "I beg you, please don't hurt my momma!"

The demons merely chuckled at DJ's desperate plea and said, "You should be more concerned about you and your friends right now."

With that being said, more shadowy figures began emerging from the cloud until it was gone, and there were twenty-four shadowy figures standing before the cast. One for each transformed member of the cast.

The leader demon looked at the trembling herd of animals before him and said with a smirk, "Any last words?"

Duncan stepped forward. He had never been one who was good with words, but he felt emboldened. He was ready to stand up to these freaks and give a heartfelt speech of the strength of the cast and how despite their slim odds, they would cling to whatever forlorn hope they had.

However, just as Duncan was about to open his mouth Noah shrieked, "EVERY MAMMAL FOR THEMSELVES!"

With that being said, the terrified assortment of animals fled into the nearby woods, desperate to put as much distance between them and the demons as possible.

Duncan and Courtney were left alone in front of the demons for an awkward moment that seemed to last an eternity, before Duncan muttered, "Ah, to heck with it," before he grabbed Courtney's front spider leg and the two scampered away as fast as their limbs could carry them.

The leader demon looked to the others and said, "Let's give them five minutes. I wouldn't want this to be TOO easy."

END OF PART 1

A/N: For those of you who had a difficult time remembering who turned into which animal, here's a helpful list below the A/N to keep things organized. This was supposed to be a _one_-shot, but I thought I'd see if you guys would like where I'm going with this so far. Remember, none of this will make sense unless you have read Strix Moonwing's The Princess and the Spider. Part two will be the final part of this little number and there will be more surprises and hilarity to come! Remember, I like writing stories for YOU my lovely readers, so just like this oneshot was suggested to me by a friend, if you ever have a suggestion I'd love to hear it and even if I choose not to write about it, I'm still glad you shared your thoughts with me.

Beth = sparrow

Bridgette = starfish

Cody = deer

Courtney = spider

DJ = ostrich

Duncan = spider

Eva = wolf

Zeke = beaver

Geoff = pink octopus

Gwen = cat

Harold = weasel

Heather = doberman

Izzy = red squirrel

Justin = peacock

Katie = mouse

LeShawna = cow

Lindsay = hare

Noah = platypus

Owen = pig

Sadie = mouse

Trent = goose

Tyler = rooster

Chef = rat

Chris = leech


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello all you happy people (and for those of you who aren't so happy, I hope this story changes that)! Anyway, I've responded to most reviews for the last chapter of this extended one-shot using the review reply feature, so let's just jump into it shall we?

Disclaimer: A short rhyme: I do not own Total Drama… I do not own a llama… I do not own The Princess and the Spider… I do own a piece of pie… der (Ah to heck with it, on with the story!)

Part 2:

Duncan and Courtney fled as quickly as their multiple legs could move, not daring to look behind them.

The tall grass at the edge of the woods helped keep them covered fairly well, but it offered very little in terms of protection, thus the two spiders knew that their safest bet would be to make it into the forest.

As they made their way past the first trees, they heard a loud roar behind them and a series of rapid movements that signaled that the demons were done waiting.

Duncan looked towards Courtney, who said in a nervous tone, "Duncan… what are we going to do?"

"I… I don't know. I need some time to think."

"But we don't have any time! Those things will be here any minute!" Duncan looked around and saw a thick bunch of bushes nearby. It was a long shot, but it wasn't as though they had a lot of options at the moment. The frantic spider duo leaped into the nearby bushes and they were both surprised to land on something quite squishy.

A familiar, jolly voice giggled and said, "Hehe, that tickles!" while a much more irritated voice responded, "Quiet you knucklehead! They'll hear us!"

Duncan and Courtney looked down and saw that they had landed on Owen's pink piggy belly. Noah was crouched down beside him and looked less than thrilled at the others' sudden intrusion.

He then said in an angry whisper, "Get out of here! We found this hiding place first and statistically speaking, the more of us that are gathered in any given location, the easier it will be for those things to…" Unfortunately Noah didn't get a chance to finish, for Duncan jumped off of Owen's belly and landed on Noah's bill, effectively silencing him.

"Weren't you just saying something about canning it, Duck-Face?"

The four teens fell silent as they heard a large stomping sound approach them and they instinctively all huddled close to each other in fear. Five demons came into view, all sniffing around to see if they could pick up a scent or hear any movements from within the woods.

As Courtney watched the demons, she noticed that this particular group seemed to resemble Cody, Noah, Zeke, Justin, and Beth, just as like the demoness with the whipping hair had resembled herself. The noticeable differences with these demons and their counterparts were that the demon that resembled Cody had large tusks shaped like an elephant's but smaller jutting out from his mouth, while the Zeke-like demon was swinging from the tree branches by a long, prehensile tail that protruded from the base of his spine. The demoness that resembled Beth had two long stalks eyes like those of a slug extending from her skull, while the demon that looked like Justin had large eyes all over his body.

Noah peered at his own demonic counterpart from the bushes and was slightly pleased to see that it had no obvious monstrous features like the others. Just then, a light brown moth fluttered by the demonic Noah, who opened his mouth and released a long, frog-like tongue that snatched the moth clean out of the air. Noah watched as his counterpart began to lazily munch of the moth, and then Noah put his paw to his bill, for he felt that he was going to be sick.

Suddenly the demons heard a slight rustle nearby. They began to fan out, moving slowly as though they were trying to pick up on the very vibrations of the air around them. The four teens held their breath and prayed that the demons would not find them.

A growl and a startled cry pierced through the air, and the teens' eyes flashed open to see if they had been discovered. However, the demons had gathered a few feet away, and in the demon that resembled Cody's arms' was a struggling blue peacock.

"They got Justin!" whispered Owen, while the others clamped their hands (or whatever they using as such) over his snout.

Demon Zeke looked at the Justin while rubbing his hands together and licking his lips in anticipation. Justin began to beg, "C… C'mon guys, you don't want to eat me! I mean, I know I look like a gorgeous, juicy hunk of hottie…"

Now all the demons were licking their lips as they advanced on Justin.

"Hm, maybe that wasn't the best choice of words on my part. Now c'mon guys, let's not do anything _I'll_ regret…"

Courtney looked at the scene before her, turned to the others, and whispered, "We have to help him!"

Duncan gave her an incredulous look and responded, "Are you insane? He and Heather are the reason we're in this mess! Let those spooks eat him. He's deserves it!"

"Nobody deserves THAT Duncan!"

"Would you two morons shut up before we're next!" whispered Noah.

"Hey guys, look! Justin's doing something!" Owen said softly.

The spiders turned and saw Justin's head down, with a forlorn look on his face that seemed to say that he had accepted his fate.

He looked up at the hungry demons and said, "Alright. I know I can't get out of this. Do with me what you will, but I have only one request. Could… could you let me be beautiful… for just one last time?"

The demons looked momentarily confused by this request, but the demon that resembled Justin stared at his former human counterpart, and then nodded slowly.

The other demons looked flustered by their companion's choice, but Demon Justin merely let out a low growl, indicating that it would only take a minute. Demon Justin would never admit this to the other demons, but even he, a creature of darkness and evil, could still appreciate beauty.

Without any hesitation, Justin opened up his tail feathers to create the glorious effect that had come to symbolize beauty within the animal kingdom. As he opened his tail feathers, the strange bright glow and heavenly choir music that tended to accompany Justin whenever he was being 'sexy' appeared.

To everyone's surprise, the light that emitted from Justin caused all of the demons to howl in agony. Four of the demons shielded their eyes (with the one resembling Beth withdrawing her eyes into her skull), but Demon Justin had had all of his eyes that covered his body open when Justin had began to glow, so he had taken the full brunt of the effect.

The demon's multiple eyes had all been blinded and he was rolling on the floor, shrieking in pain.

Courtney looked at all this with confusion and murmured, "But why would that…" Suddenly, a knowing look came across her face and she jumped out of the bushes and scuttled towards Justin. Duncan ran after her, crying, "Princess! Get back here! It's not safe!" However, Courtney continued towards Justin and shouted, "Justin! Keep being sexy!"

Justin's eyes widened as he saw Courtney and said, "Courtney? You… you think I'm sexy?" A smile appeared on the handsome peacock's face and as his pride swelled, his glow intensified. All of the demons' skin began to sizzle under this new bright light, and four of the demons fled while Demon Justin was huddled in a ball on the forest floor, breathing shallowly as his skin seemed to be burning.

Justin then ceased glowing and turned to Courtney and said, "I KNEW you couldn't resist me! No woman can! I knew it was just a matter of time before you realized that I was way better looking than that punk, even WITH all those disfigurements I got from the show. Now you and I can date and become the best-looking…"

A scowl appeared on Courtney's face as she listened to the pretty-boy ramble on and before Justin could finish, she pulled back her foreleg and gave him a punch in his feathery side.

"Ow…" The confused pretty-boy moaned, "What was that for?"

Duncan also approached the two, followed slowly by Noah and Owen, and asked, "Mind explaining what the heck just happened Princess?"

Courtney responded to Duncan, "Do you remember back when Chef saved you from being dragged away by the shadow demons before? He used LIGHT to weaken them! After I saw the effect Justin's weird 'sexy' light thing was having on them, I realized the demons are _still_ vulnerable to the light."

Justin piped up, "My sexiness is NOT weird!" as he rubbed his sore wing.

"Maybe not, but it still gives me a great idea that will give us a fighting chance against those monsters…" said Courtney as she pointed to Demon Justin, who was still very charred and barely breathing.

"…However, we're going to have to go back to the stage where Chris was going to give Duncan his prize."

The others stared at Courtney blankly before Duncan erupted, "Are you crazy? We just ran away from there! Those ghouls are probably are over that place!"

"Not necessarily, they're probably here in the woods hunting for us and the others!"

Duncan paused, for Courtney's point did make sense, but he still felt apprehensive about the whole thing.

Courtney approached Duncan and said, "Do you trust me?"

Duncan stared into her dark eyes, then nodded and said, "Yeah… Yeah, I do."

Courtney turned to the others and said; "I'll need all of your help as well."

Noah shot the former CIT a skeptical look and said, "And why would we risk our lives to help you with some half-baked scheme?"

"It certainly beats hiding out in the woods and hoping we don't get caught! Besides, it might be our best chance for turning human again."

Noah looked like he wanted to argue, but he thought for a minute and groaned, "I do suppose we're not getting anywhere just running away…"

Suddenly, Demon Justin gave a powerful spasm that reminded the teens that he was still there. Courtney looked at him nervously and said, "Maybe we should hurry up and get out here, before HE starts feeling better."

The teens began to make their way back to the stage, though Justin gently touched Courtney with his wing and asked, "So… you don't think I'm sexy?"

Courtney put her foreleg to her head and groaned, then said, "Look, it's not as though I find you UNattractive…"

"So you do love me!"

"No! Just because I think you're good-looking doesn't mean I'm in love with you!"

"But… but… people always love me for my beauty. I thought you chose Duncan because of all the disfigurements I got on the show."

Courtney looked at Justin and saw how confused the poor boy was. She was the only girl he had ever shown any interest in on the show and women usually would swoon if he even glanced in their direction, but she did not. She had chosen a guy who was not only far less attractive than he was, but also had none of his charm and swagger. To him, it was like comparing a prince to a frog and the princess had chosen the frog.

A sympathetic look appeared on Courtney's face and she lightly touched his cheek before saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pretended to like you during Season 2. As for not liking you, it had nothing to do with your looks, it's just…" Courtney looked towards Duncan as he lead the others out of the forest and towards the stage, "…love is a really strange and complicated thing. It kind of makes strong people weak and weak people strong, and most of the time you don't even know what will happen."

"Then why even bother with it?" asked Justin.

"Hey, hurry up you two!" called Duncan as he waved for Justin and Courtney to catch up with the rest of the group.

Courtney looked to Justin and quietly said, "Because sometimes you hope that it's worth the risk." Without another word, Courtney rushed forward to catch up with the rest of the group, while Justin thought over her words for a minute, and then trotted behind her.

xoxoxoxo

As the five teens approached the stage, hidden in the tall grass, they were disappointed to see that Demon Duncan and Demon Courtney were still there, accompanied by a few other demons. There was a demon that resembled Owen, except that his mouth was overly stretched and filled with huge teeth. There was another demon that resembled Izzy, except where her hands should have been, there two massive hammers. There were also two demonesses that resembled Katie and Sadie, with each one having a large blade protruding from one of their arms.

The teens crouched in the grass as they heard Demon Courtney groan, "_Daaaarling_. This taking MUCH too long! I thought we would have captured all those pathetic humans by now."

Demon Duncan nodded and said, "It is quite interesting indeed. I had presumed that because they were young, they would be easy prey, but apparently that competition that the wretch who summoned us was so preoccupied with might have actually made them… formidable. It may have been unwise for us to command the others to bring all the humans back before we disposed of them all at once."

Noah eye's widened as he turned to others and whispered, "So they weren't ordered to take us down, only to retrieve us before they finished the job here!"

Demon Courtney slithered over to her partner and said, "Well then… maybe we should join in on the _fun_. It did give me such joy to command the others to do our bidding, but… I guess I am a do-it yourself type of demoness."

"Hm, you may have gotten from the girl whose human essence you stole. Be wary my love, in having stolen her strengths, you have also stolen her weaknesses."

The real Courtney's eyes flashed at this revelation. She turned to the others and said, "We need to get them away from here, at least for a little while. Even if they capture some of the other cast-mates, they said they wouldn't really hurt them until they've caught all of us. If I can get everything set up by the time all other demons return, then I _might_ have a way to destroy them all at once!"

Noah shot a scathing look at Courtney and said, "_Might_, doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Besides, how are we going to get those demons to leave here?"

Duncan looked at Noah and said, "Well… we could use a distraction."

"Oh yeah, what do want me to do, dress up and do the hula?"

Noah instantly regretted that rhetorical question when Duncan and Courtney both smiled, both having been struck by inspiration.

Five minutes later, every demon present was surprised when a platypus and a pig in grass skirts, with pink flowers in their hair jumped out from the grass and the platypus nervously sang:

"LUAU! If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat, eat my buddy Owen here because he is a treat! Come on down and dine on this tasty swine! All you have to do is get in line!"

The pig then sang:

"Aaaare you achin'? YUP YUP! Foooor some bacon? YUP YUP! Iiiiii'm a big pig! YUP YUP! You could be a big pig too! OY!"

Demon Duncan stared at Noah and Owen, and then looked at Demon Courtney and said, "Well, that was… just plain freaky."

Demon Courtney nodded and said, "Indeed, but then again I _DO_ love a show with a meal… and since the show is over…" the demoness took a moment to lick her lips, "… let us get started on the _MEAL_!" With that the demoness let out a shrieking cackle and without any further hesitation, Noah and Owen screeched and ran back into the woods, this time with all of the demons who had been by the stage chasing right behind them.

Duncan and Courtney's heads rose above the tall grass as their eyes followed their panicked friends and the hungry demons.

The spider duo made their way to the stage and Courtney said, "I hope they make it to Justin okay."

Duncan responded, "Let's just focus on what we have to do. Justin's little light trick should keep him and the others relatively safe, and even still, the demons said they won't hurt anyone until everyone was caught."

Courtney sighed as she made her way to the stage and said, "Yeah, but demons are not exactly known for keeping their word."

xoxoxox

Beth flew through the trees and maneuvered around the branches. Her little sparrow heart had pumped her with enough adrenaline to give new meaning to the fight or _flight_ reaction.

Despite this, her wings were tiring and she still heard the crashing of branches a few yards away, indicating that her pursuers will still behind her. In a split second decision, Beth ducked into a hole on the top of an old tree.

As she landed, Beth felt some soft material under her feet. She looked down and saw she was standing in a relatively big nest. Beth then said, "What type of bird would make a nest like this?"

"That would be me," said an annoyed voice behind her.

Beth spun around and saw a Spotted Owl with light brown feathers covered in white flecks standing right behind her. Normally the Spotted Owl was not an intimidating bird at first glance, but compared to Beth's tiny sparrow body, she suddenly understood why owls were often referred to as "Hunters of the Night."

The owl stared down at Beth and said, "Mind telling me exactly why you thought it would be a good idea to come into my nest right before dinner time?"

Beth, upon hearing the voice a second time, realized that the owl she was talking to was female. Beth shakily began, "Please Mrs. Owl…"

"Mrs. Owl is my mother's name. I am called Strix Moonwing."

"Um… okay. Please Ms. Moonwing..." but before Beth could finish, there was a loud crash outside that seemed to shake the entire tree up from its roots to the tips of its branches.

Beth began flying wildly around the nest, chirping, "They're closing in! They're going to find me! Please, hide me!"

Strix looked completely flustered by the whole situation. What type of animal could be so large that it could shake the very earth under its feet, but still being hunting a tiny sparrow? Strix turned to Beth and said, "Hide at the bottom of my nest while I take a look outside."

Beth nodded, and then did as she was told, while Strix cautiously stuck her head out from the entrance to the nest. To her horror, Strix saw a group of monstrosities making their way through the forest.

Strix did not recognize anything familiar about these creatures, but Beth certainly had as she had fled from the stage. The group that had locked onto Beth, consisted of the demonic duplicates of Harold, LeShawna, Heather, DJ, and Eva.

Demon Harold stood out immediately for being incredibly tall and thin. He stood at least twenty feet tall and his limbs were long and reaching, thus with each step he took, he seemed to move slowly as if walking through water rather than air.

Demon LeShawna walked beside him, and although she was the same height as her human counterpart, her entire body was covered in sharp spikes.

Demon Heather was riding on Demon Harold shoulder and scanning the entire area. Just then, the wind blew and rustled a few branches on the tree next to Strix's own. With accuracy of a military sniper, Demon Heather immediately took aim and from the tips of her hands, her nails shot out like bullets.

The projectile nails hit the rustling branch spot on, and with such a force that the branch snapped off and fell to the ground. Demon Eva, who had been walking beside Demon Harold, immediately charged at the fallen branch and with the blade-like claws extending from her own hands, sliced through the branch with a deft prowess that would make a sushi chef turn green with envy.

After she finished, she peered down at the wood chips and saw that their prey was not there. She returned to the group and began to growl and hiss. The other demons nodded, and then Demon DJ came forward.

He had huge, thick arms that he dragged behind him when he walked. He randomly approached Strix's tree, and the frightened owl let out a tiny squeak before she ducked her head back into her nest.

Demon DJ pulled back his arms, and then let out a ferocious cry as he punched Strix's tree. Beth was about to shriek in fright, but Strix quickly covered her beak. The owl knew the demons were searching for signs of noise or movement, thus the best defense was to be as silent and still as possible.

The demons stared at the tree for a minute, but when they saw and heard nothing, Demon Heather let out a screeching cry and the demons moved away from the tree, continuing their hunt elsewhere.

After they were gone, Strix slowly poked her head out of her nest, then turned back to Beth and said, "You were right to be afraid! Those dark ones seemed determined to find you!"

"That's just it. Those things are demons that turned me and my friends into animals. My name is Beth and I'm actually a human girl."

"And why exactly should I care about that?"

Beth looked flustered by this response and stuttered, "Well… I…"

"Ugh, you humans are all the same. You are all so concerned with your individual needs that they blind you to the needs of others. Did you ever think about the consequences of leading those monsters into the woods?"

"No… I was just trying to get away."

"Yes, but in doing so, those beasts will uproot the trees and hunt innocent animals. You and your friends have included this forest in a fight that it should not have been a part of!"

Beth hung her head in shame and said, "I'm so sorry, but you have to understand… we were just trying to stay alive."

Strix sighed, and then said, "Well, that _is_ a fundamental law of the forest: Survival of the fittest, but if those things continue to rampage, the forest will suffer greatly."

"Then maybe you could help us!" cried Beth, "If we defeat the demons, we can drive them from the forest and me and my friends can regain our human forms!"

"Hm, that would benefit all involved… fine, but I'm going to have to get some friends of mine to help." Suddenly Beth and Strix heard wings fluttering outside. A Spotted Owl with darker feathers that was slightly bigger than Strix entered the nest.

The new owl said in a cheerful, male voice, "Heya Strixy!"

Beth looked at Strix and asked, "A friend of yours?"

The new owl looked down at Beth, then turned to Strix and asked, "Who's she? Dessert?"

Strix rolled her eyes and said, "Now's not the time to think about food Wind Rider."

Wind Rider looked disappointed and said, "Aww… but I brought appetizers!" He raised a claw and showed that he was carrying two mice. Both were grey and had black ears, but one was taller and leaner, while the other was shorter and rounder. The two mousy girls were clutching each other and trembling in fear.

Beth immediately recognized Katie and Sadie and cried, "Eeek! Don't eat them! Those two are human!"

Wind Rider looked at the mice and said, "They make bite-sized humans now? Eh, I try anything once."

He raised the mice to his beak, but Strix raised her wing and smacked him on the back of his head, causing him to drop Katie and Sadie, who quickly ran over to Beth and cowered behind her.

Strix then said to Wind Rider, "There are dark ones in the forest that are hunting this girl and her friends. She's come up with the idea that she and her friends will help us rid the forest of those monsters and we in turn shall help them become humans again."

Wind Rider rubbed the back of his head with his wing and said, "Hm, sounds like an awful lot of work. You sure we can't just eat one of them, y'know, just keep up our strength?"

Strix narrowed her eyes and said, "Knock it off, besides… you could stand to skip a meal or two."

Wind Rider stuck out his tongue at her, then turned to Beth, Katie, and Sadie, and said, "Hey you three, look at me from the side. Do I look big to you?"

Katie and Sadie looked at each other and silently prayed that their flattering skills they had developed with Justin would save their skins. Katie said, "Noo… not at all… you look totally toned."

"Yeah," continued Sadie, "You're a hooting hottie!"

"Oh, that was good!" said Katie, forgetting the precariousness of their situation, while Sadie replied, "Thanks! It just came to me because he's an owl and all!"

The two BFFs began to babble and congratulate each other on their cleverness, while Wind Rider turned to Beth and asked, "You sure it won't be for the best if I ate them?"

"Nah, after listening to them go on like that for a while, it kind of grows on you."

Strix turned to Katie and said, "You, climb on my back. Your friend can ride on Wind Rider, and Beth can fly on her own. We need to fly to some other trees and convince some of the other birds to help us. We must hurry before the dark ones cause more destruction or find your other friends."

The three girls nodded as Strix's words made the seriousness of the situation quite clear. Katie and Sadie each mounted an owl, and the three birds and two mice launched themselves out of the nest and quickly flew through the darkness of the night.

xoxoxoxox

Courtney and Duncan slid down one of the poles that supported the lights around the stage. Usually the stage lights were controlled electronically and used to focus on either the stage or the reactions of the audience. However Courtney and Duncan had been climbing the poles the stage lights had been stationed upon. They had oriented each light so that it was aimed directing into the middle of the stage. Now that that task was done, they headed backstage to find the controls. Duncan turned to Courtney and said, "You sure this is going to work?"

"Yes… I mean I'm sure that… (sigh) I really hope so."

"Hm, that doesn't seem like the Courtney I know."

"But this isn't some dumb challenge on Chris's show Duncan, if this doesn't work, then we'll not only lose the million, but our lives as well, not to mention what could happen to our families."

Duncan took Courtney's forelegs into his own and said, "So we won't lose then. Don't forget that Chris has put us through some pretty insane stuff, some of which _has_ actually almost killed us. Despite all that, I have seen that you've always kept coming back for more and fighting every step of the way."

Courtney downed her head to hide a blush as she murmured, "I guess I just don't know when to give up."

Duncan smiled and said, "And that's what makes you so awesome. You don't care what's standing in your way or what people think of you. You just keep moving forward because you know that no matter what's ahead, you've got the guts to face it head on."

Courtney's eyes rose to meet Duncan's and for a brief moment, their faces grew closer to each other, their lips almost about to meet. Courtney's eyes flickered upward and right before Duncan could plant his lips upon her own, she left his embrace and cried, "There are the power controls!"

Unfortunately Duncan had continued to move forward, but without Courtney lips there to meet his, he fell forward and landed flat on his face. As he groggily rose, he saw Courtney scrambling up the backstage stairs to reach the control panel.

The punk let out a disappointed sigh, but reminded himself that they still had a job to do, and then followed Courtney up the stairs. Right above the stage, was a landing that allowed access to the sandbags and housed the control panel for the lighting for the stage.

As Duncan and Courtney approached the landing above the stage, they were surprised to find a large group of other spiders weaving their webs. One of the spider looked down from his web and said, "Hm, I never seen you's two before. You new around here?"

Duncan responded, "Don't worry, we're not staying. We just need to use this machine over here."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever buddy," said the spider to Duncan, before he turned his attention to Courtney and said, "Hey there sweet-legs, why don't you ditch the chump and hang with a real arachnid."

"What?" cried Duncan indignantly.

Another male spider near the first one yelled, "Forget these two losers Gorgeous, I've got eight legs of muscle right here for ya!"

A third male spider male spider chimed in, "Hey, ignore those other dudes. I'm just added some room to my web, plenty of room for two up here!"

Suddenly a series of arguments erupted among a good number of the male spiders above the stage, while a couple of females rolled their eyes and said, "Ugh, men. This is why smart arachnids eat their mates."

Duncan looked at Courtney and said, "Can you believe those guys! They've got some nerve!"

"Well…" said Courtney with a proud smile on her face, "it IS rather flattering… plus I think it gives me an idea."

Courtney turned to the arguing male spiders and called out, "OH BOYS…"

All the male spiders turned to see Courtney looking rather seductive, puckering her lips and showing quite a bit of her eight legs.

She then said in a syrupy sweet voice, "Could you big, strong men do a favor for little ol' me?"

All the male spiders looked at each other, then back at Courtney before answering with a unanimous, "SURE!"

xoxoxoxox

Noah was cursing every other breath as he and Owen made their way into the forest. Right after they had performed that ridiculous song, Noah had managed to jump onto Owen's back and the two friends were charging through the trees, praying that Justin's light trick might work for a second time.

However, just as they were about to reach the clearing where Justin was waiting, Noah felt something coil around his waist. Suddenly the poor platypus was hoisted right off of Owen's back and he flew through the air until he landed in a pair of open arms.

At first Noah wiped his brow and sighed in relief for not having crashed into the ground, but then he looked up, he saw Demon Courtney looking down at him, smiling with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Noah cursed again, and then looked up at the demoness and nervously asked, "So… did you like the song?"

"It was quite entertaining," she responded, and then she began to shift Noah around in her arms, examining him quite closely. Noah knew that he was in dire situation, but curiosity got the better of him as he asked, "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Hm… such a _strange_ animal. Are you some variety of **chubby bird**?"

Noah slapped his forehead with his paw and groaned, "Ugh, not _this_ again."

Demon Duncan came into view and approached Demon Courtney, "Ah! You've caught one!"

Demon Courtney nodded, pleased with herself, "Yes darling, and I find this one quite _amusing_. Maybe we **shouldn't**kill him with the others…" Noah's heart suddenly filled with hope. He might actually make it out of this mess alive!

"…Instead I might like to try out a few _recipes_ on this one individually." Well, there went that flight of the imagination.

"Or **maybe** I could use his pelt for a _decoration_!" Demon Courtney grabbed Noah and draped him around her neck like a boa and struck a fashionable pose. Demon Duncan smiled and said, "You look ravishing my love, but won't it look better once we skin him?"

Demon Courtney paused, contemplating the idea, and then responded, "I don't think so. He's so warm and fluffy, _gutting_ him like a fish would probably take away from that. Hm… I'VE GOT IT! He shall be my new **pet**!"

"Oh happy day," Noah responded sarcastically, still draped around the demoness's neck.

"Now all we need to do is give you a _name_…"

"Uh, my name is Noah."

"Noah the Boa? Catchy, but it lacks a certain _charm_. I know! Your new name shall be _Mr. Squishy_!"

"What?"

"It's perfect because of your **chubby** belly! It's decided then! I shall call you Mr. Squishy and you shall be _mine_!"

Demon Duncan looked at Noah and said to Demon Courtney, "Now beloved, are you sure you want another pet? You know how quickly you tend to go through them."

Demon Courtney smiled and said, "Well, each one **is** a learning experience. Next time I'll know to use a _shorter rope_ when **playing yoyo **with one of my pets over a **fiery **pit."

Noah felt the blood drain from his face upon hearing this.

Demon Courtney continued, "Have the search parties caught **any** of the _others_?"

A fanged grin broke out across Demon Duncan's face said, "The scouts have managed to round up quite a few of them, but there are still a small number of that elude us." The demon's face then darkened as he added, "Also, we did find something of… interest."

Demon Katie and Sadie came into view, and on each non-bladed arm, they were carrying the charred Demon Justin.

Demon Courtney let out a horrified gasp, while a triumphant smirk appeared on Noah's face.

Demon Justin let out a gurgling moan, and Demon Duncan said in a pensive tone, "The humans have discovered our vulnerability to light."

Demon Justin continued his strange moaning, and Demon Duncan continued, "Hm, so your human counterpart did this?" Demon Duncan thought for a moment, then turned to Demon Katie and Sadie and said, "Find him and eliminate him immediately."

Demon Katie and Sadie nodded and then linked arms with each other. They began to spin around, faster and faster until they blurred together to form a silhouette that resembled a spinning top. The demonic girls extended their bladed arms and began to move through the forest, while their blades cutting through the trees like paper.

Demon Duncan smiled as the dust rose and the trees fell. Things were mostly going as planned, and as for the humans that still eluded him… If they wanted to hide, so be it, he would find them all. It was just a matter of time.

xoxoxoxox

Owen was crying his eyes out as Justin sympathetically patted his porcine friend on the back. Through his sobs, Owen said, "I 'sob' can't 'sob' believe 'sob' that I 'sob' LOST HIM! WAHHHHH!"

Justin asked, "And you didn't even see when they took him?"

Owen sniffled, "No… I was running and he was on my back. It's only when I got here did I realize he was gone."

Justin tried to comfort Owen by patting him on the back and saying, "Don't worry… I… uh… I'm sure he's fine. I mean he's an egghead right? Those guys are usually smart enough to figure something out right?"

Owen thought for a moment, and then said, "I suppose so. Thanks Justin, I knew someone as pretty as you couldn't be completely heartless."

Justin shot Owen a look for the 'pretty' line and Owen quickly tried to backtrack and say, "By pretty… I mean like a 'manly' pretty… Y'know like 'Dude, you are _so_ pretty.'"

The stare Justin was giving him told Owen that he wasn't helping his case, so Owen just downed his head and said, "Yeah, I'll be quiet now."

The pig and the peacock heard some footsteps approaching from the distance, so they ducked under some nearby bushes and peered through the leaves.

To their horror, they saw a large group of demons marching through the woods, carrying some of their friends who had been restrained.

One pair of the demons resembled Chef and Chris, but the former had two large goat horns protruding from his head, while latter seemed to be covered with a large shell that resembled that of a turtle. Together, they were carrying a snarling Eva, whose paws and muzzle were bounded together by a strange, gooey black substance.

The next pair of demons resembled Geoff and Bridgette, but the demonic Geoff had two large crab claws where the original's hands had been, while Demon Bridgette had a large, fish-like fin on her head and webbed hands and feet.

Demon Geoff was wearing his human counterpart's cowboy hat on his head, like some kind of trophy, while he carried the real Geoff over his shoulder. Geoff's multiple legs had also been bounded up by the tar-like substance, so despite his earnest struggling, he could barely move. Bridgette still clung to Geoff's head, remaining silent but the small salty tears falling from her eyes said enough.

Two more demons followed the first four, with the first looking like Tyler while the other looked like Lindsay. Demon Tyler had a huge scorpion's tail jutting out from the base of his spine, while Demon Lindsay had two feelers protruding from her forehead and large, jagged pincers coming out of her mouth.

Between the two of them, Demon Lindsay was holding onto Izzy, who was chewing on the demoness's head in an attempt to free herself, but Demon Lindsay appeared to feel nothing and just continued walking.

Demon Tyler was holding Trent, and it obvious even from a distance that the musician been seriously hurt. Justin squinted and saw that Trent's wings had crushed, probably as a preventive measure to keep him from flying away. Despite the obvious pain on the goose's face, he was still going through a great effort to look behind him.

When Justin saw the next two demons to appear, he understood why. The next two demons were Demon Trent and Demon Gwen. The dark, tar-like substance that Justin had saw binding everyone was dripping from Demon Gwen's hair and seemed to be pouring down her arms. In Demon Gwen's arms was the real Gwen, who was almost completely covered in the gunk and totally immobilized.

Demon Trent wasn't carrying any prisoners, not because he hadn't hunted, but just because he didn't have the means too. Where the normal Trent's arms had been were two sharp forelegs that resembled those of a praying mantis.

Owen whispered to Justin, "They've captured almost everybody! We have to get out of here!"

Justin stared at the ground for a minute, and then said, "No."

"What?"

"Courtney was right. I did help get you guys into this mess… I know I usually don't like putting my face in danger… but I'm the only one who has a weapon against these things."

"But there's about eight demons out there!"

"That why I'm sure what I'm about to do is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life, but it just might be the bravest thing too."

Without another word, Justin leapt from the bushes and cried, "Hey Uglies! Get a load of this!" He opened his tail feathers and the heavenly choir began to start up. However, just before his infamous glow could kick in, Demon Gwen reacted quickly and began to spew the black sludge from her hair.

Poor Justin was covered from head to toe in the gooey substance and his beauty was effectively hidden away. Justin couldn't open his tail feathers, much less even move his feet, and to his great despair, Demon Lindsay walked over and picked him up effortlessly.

Owen cried, "Justin!" and ran out of the bushes to try to help his friend. However, a long, sickle-like foreleg stopped him in his tracks. Demon Trent stared at Owen and let out a hiss that would make a rattlesnake feel inadequate. Poor Owen promptly fainted and collapsed in a heap before the demon.

Demon Gwen approached Demon Chef, then shot some sludge onto Owen. Then, with a little help from the other Demons, they lifted Owen onto Demon Chef's back, where he stuck because of the sludge. The demons continued on their trek, with Justin feeling miserable over his failure and Owen being blissfully unaware of his demonic piggyback.

xoxoxoxoxo

All of the demons had returned to the stage, where they deposited the cast-mates. All of the cast-mates, including Chris and Chef, had been captured except for Beth, Katie, Sadie, Courtney, and Duncan. Courtney and Duncan were still above the stage and had seen the others being brought in, but they still needed some more time before they could put their plan into action.

Off on one side of the stage, Demon Courtney was watching in amusement as Noah finished performing a dance routine for her entertainment.

The poor platypus gasped and wheezed in exhaustion, not used to this level of physical activity even when he had been a human. Demon Courtney clapped and said, "_Bravo_ Mr. Squishy! Who knew that a **chubby** bird could be so _light _on his feet? Now how about you sing a _little ditty_ for me?"

Noah gasped for air as he said, "Couldn't (gasp) I (wheeze) take a (gasp) breather (wheeze)?"

An angry expression flashed across Demon Courtney's face, but it was quickly replaced by a sickly sweet smile as she said, "Oh, I _suppose_ you could, but then **again** I _suppose_ I could tell my _darling_ I like my birds thoroughly **roasted**."

Noah sighed, then turned to Demon Ezekiel and said, "Maestro, put it in C flat."

Demon Ezekiel nodded then, then threw Noah a little top hat and cane from the stages prop chest, and then started to play a tune on a nearby piano.

Noah looked at Demon Courtney and said, "This one's for you, kid."

Then he began to sing:

"Oh I know a girl, who's malicious and cruel,

She's just so twisted, they don't teach that in school,

But with those pretty eyes and evil whipping hair,

It's easy for all of us, simply not to care.

It's Demon Courtney, the girl I'm singing about.

It's said that she's was spawned in the deepest pit of heck,

That would probably explain why she's such a pain in the neck

She can scare the daylights out of the bravest men,

She can rip your soul apart, before you count to ten.

She's evil, vile, and dangerous to boot!

But with that cute face, who really gives a hoot?

It's Demon Courtney, the girl I'm singing about.

And as I keep singing, I feel like such a lout.

But I have to keep on singing

Or it's my neck she'll be wringing…

Because it's Demon Courtney,

The girl I'm singing about!"

Noah then collapsed on stage, panting from exhaustion. Demon Courtney began clapping and cheering, "_Bravo! Bravo!_"

The cast rolled their eyes (along with a few of the demons), but Demon Duncan chuckled and said, "Well since we have captured most of the pathetic humans and watching that chubby bird sing and dance has made me work up an appetite, let's devour the souls of the youths we have captured! Those that we have not captured as yet had weak bodies anyway, so if they attempt to strike at us, I do not doubt we can handle them."

"Don't be so sure about that!" rang out a voice from the sky.

Everyone present looked up to see Beth flying through the sky and behind her was a huge flock of all different kinds of birds. The flock followed Beth like a flying battalion and within their claws they held sticks, rocks, pinecones, and anything else they could carry.

From the backs of Strix Moonwing and Wind Rider, Katie and Sadie yelled "Fire!"

The birds immediately began pelting their cargo at the demons below. Demon Harold, who was the tallest of the demons, tried to swipe at the birds, but they deftly avoided his attack and then flew straight into his face. With two swift strikes, Strix Moonwing and Wind Rider clawed at the demon's eyes, blinding him and causing him to bellow in fury.

Beth happened to fly close to the top of the stage, where she heard a familiar voice cry out, "Beth! Over here!"

Beth turned and saw Courtney and Duncan waving frantically towards her. She flew over and said, "You guys weren't captured?"

Courtney shook her head and said, "No, but we have a plan to defeat the demons! We need to you to free the others and then we can do our part from up here."

Beth nodded and then called out to Strix Moonwing and Wind Rider, "Guys, follow me and do as I do!"

She then swooped down and used her claws and beak to tear at the black sludge that had bounded the cast-mates. The two owls saw and followed suit, while the rest of the birds continued to attack the demons.

Soon all of the cast-mates were free and joined in on the fight. Geoff spun around on one of his eight legs while he used the others to repeatedly slap all of the demons around him. As his own demonic doppleganger charged at him, Geoff extended one tentacle and wrapped it around the demon's neck, choking him. He then used another tentacle to take back his hat from the dark duplicate's head before smashing his foe's head into the ground.

Izzy jumped onto Demon Heather's face, blocking her vision so that the demoness ended up shooting her nails at some of the other demons rather the birds.

Demon Ezekiel grabbed Lindsay by her ears and licked his lips at the thought of devouring the blonde hare. Suddenly he heard a fierce crow behind him, and before he had a chance to turn around, he felt a sharp beak bite down on his tail.

He looked behind him and saw the fearsome sight of Tyler, who at that moment had the fury of one hundred fighting cockerels. With another might crow, Tyler began to wrathfully claw at the demon until the poor creature unleashed Lindsay and fled, yelping in pain.

Tyler gallantly caught Lindsay in his wings as Demon Zeke dropped her, and she in turn wrapped her paws around his neck and cried, "My Hero!"

Chef was performing a series of complicated martial arts, as he smashed demons' head together and delivered flying kicks that knocked more than a few of Demon Owen's teeth out.

Chris, who was usually a coward by nature, also was swept up by the heat of the battle. He inched forward as fast as his little leech body could carry him and cried, "Hold 'im still for me Chef! I'll give him a bite on his big toe that he'll never forget!"

The other cast-mates, along with the birds drove the demons towards the center of the stage, and then from above Duncan and Courtney simultaneously cried, "Now!"

The hundreds of male spiders above the stage began to unravel a huge silken web, which had been Courtney's request from earlier. Duncan scuttled to the left, while Courtney scuttled to the right, and the spider duo grabbed the opposite ends of the giant web.

They each unleashed a mighty battle-cry as they both jumped off the landing and carried the web with them. The web expanded to its maximum surface area and covered the demons like a sticky, silken net. When Courtney landed, her fall was luckily cushioned by Owen's great pink belly. Geoff had seen Duncan falling, and with all of his eight tentacles outstretched he cried, "I've got him! I've got him!" before Duncan landed on the ground five inches to Geoff's left, flat on his face.

Geoff bent down, rubbing the back of his head with three of his tentacles sheepishly, and chuckled, "Hehe, uh… sorry dude."

One of Duncan's legs shot out and socked Geoff directly in the nose, before he shakily rose and muttered, "No hard feelings."

Courtney turned to Duncan and said, "Quick! We still have to flip the switch to turn on the lights!"

Just as the pair began heading towards the stairs backstage, something shot out of the spider web and coiled itself around Courtney's body. The CIT was hoisted into the air while Duncan cried, "Princess!"

Demon Courtney had managed to free herself from the net and one of her thrashing locks of hair wrapped itself around Courtney. Courtney struggled to get loose, and as the cast and the birds swooped in to her rescue, her demonic counterpart shrilly cried, "**Don't **come any closer! _Unless_ you wish for me to **snap her neck**!"

Both the cast and the birds froze, not daring to move an inch. They suddenly heard a dark chuckle as Demon Duncan managed to free himself from the web along with the other demons. He approached his deranged love and said, "Well done my pet. I expected nothing less of you."

Demon Courtney purred in appreciation, then her eyes lit up upon remembering the word 'pet.' She turned to Noah, who was attempting to hide behind LeShawna and said in dark tone, "_Mr. Squishy_, come **here**."

Noah trembled as he approached Demon Courtney, who shot out another lock of hair that wrapped itself around him. Noah was then yanked upward until he was dangling right in front of his wrathful mistress, who said, "Taking part in a _rebellion_? I am _very_ **disappointed** in you. I do _believe_ a **punishment** is in order."

Demon Courtney then looked to her human counterpart and said, "_Pathetic_ girl. Did you _really_ think you could win **against us**? **Against me**? I have _all_ your **strengths**!"

To Demon Courtney's surprise, a smile appeared on Courtney's face. The CIT then bravely stated, "You also have all of my _weaknesses_ as well! And guess what?"

"What?"

"I happen to be quite LACTOSE INTOLERANT! LeShawna! Spray her!"

LeShawna looked confused for a moment, but then when she realized exactly what Courtney was suggesting and said, "Oh you've GOT to be kidding me!"

Harold gallantly leaped to LeShawna's side and said, "Fear not fair LeShawna, I shall assist you in this endeavor!" He then turned to Demon Courtney and cried, "Prepare for your UDDER defeat!"

Suddenly, Demon Courtney found herself being sprayed with fresh, grade A, whole milk. The demoness sputtered as the creamy liquid covered her and after she had been thoroughly drenched, she turned to Courtney and said in a deadpanned tone, "And _WHAT_ exactly was that **supposed** to do?"

"Look at you arms and you'll see!"

Demon Courtney looked down and to her horror, she saw that her arms were breaking out in giant, red itchy hives, as well as the rest of her skin. She began to frantically scratch herself all over, even using her hair to get to the hard-to-reach spots.

Her need to scratch was so powerful, that her even her hair seemed to be thrashing around in agony. Without even thinking, the demoness flung Courtney and Noah out of her lashing locks.

Courtney let out a frantic cry as she flew through the air, but luckily Geoff stretched out a tentacle and managed to catch her before she hit the wall. As he gently lowered her to the floor, Duncan muttered, "Oh _sure_. You have no problem catching her."

Unfortunately Noah's landing wasn't as comfortable as Courtney's. He screamed as he flew upward and crashed onto the landing backstage, right by the spiders that had helped Duncan and Courtney. One of the male spiders turned to another and said, "Ha! I tolds you's that platypuses was birds! That one just managed to fly up here! Pay up chump!"

Demon Duncan took one look at his 'beloved's' face, which had become pox-marked and swollen, and then he muttered a disgusted, "Eww…" He then turned Demon Gwen and said, "Hello Beautiful, how would you like to be my new mistress of darkness?"

Demon Gwen let out a confused purr in response, however, Demon Trent jumped in front of Demon Gwen and hissed at Demon Duncan, seething with jealous rage. This however, was nothing compared to what Demon Courtney did next.

Demon Duncan suddenly found a series of dark, tentacle-like locks wrapping around his entire body. The next second, he was thrown into the air and then pulled down with such a force that upon impact, the entire stage shook. As he unsteadily rose to his feet, he saw Demon Courtney, who still covered in hives, glowering at him but now her eyes were glowing red.

In a deadly voice she said, "How _**DARE**_ you?"

Demon Duncan smirked and then swiftly grabbed a few of her tentacle-like locks and said, "Don't hate the demon…" he then swung her around by her hair and then released her, sending her crashing into Demon Lindsay.

Demon Duncan then finished with a nasty toothy grin, "… hate the game." Demon Tyler roared at seeing Demon Lindsay collapse after Demon Courtney had landed on her. Demon Tyler and Demon Trent both charged at Demon Duncan. Duncan Courtney stared at her former lover as he winked at Demon Gwen before he slammed his three of his six fists into Demon Trent's face.

If the demonic Courtney had been considered unstable before, her sudden abandonment provided the extra push needed to send her spiraling off the deep end. With an unholy shriek, the demoness's entire body erupted in long whipping tentacles and she charged directly at Demon Duncan and Demon Gwen.

Any other demon in her way also tasted Demon Courtney's fury as her tentacles wrapped around each of them and tossed them at her former lover and his new interest. Needless to say, this kind of treatment didn't sit well with the other demons. Soon, all of the dark creatures were involved in a frantic scrimmage in the middle of the stage, so much so that they were no longer even bothering with the cast-mates.

Courtney noticed this and then looked up to see Noah groggily rubbing his head right by the stage control panel. Courtney cupped her forelegs to her mouth and cried, "Noah! Pull the big red lever!"

Noah turned to the control panel and saw that underneath the big red lever was written the words, 'Light Intensity Control.' A smile flashed across his face as he ran towards it. When he was right in front of the switch, he turned to the stage and yelled, "HEY DEMONS!"

Surprisingly, all of the demons froze mid-fight and looked directly up at him.

Noah called down triumphantly, "THIS IS FOR CALLING ME CHUBBY, YA JERKS!"

With that Noah jumped up and pulled down on the big red lever. Suddenly all of the stage lights, which Duncan and Courtney had deliberately maneuvered earlier to face mid-stage, brightened up to full intensity and were aimed directly at the demons. The demons all let loose a simultaneous shriek of agony as the light charred their flesh and burned them to their shadowy cores.

As the light continued to strike the demons, their bodies seemed to evaporate like vapor. Once the demons dark, grotesque bodies were gone, the cast-mates saw a series of lights on stage that actually seemed to be glowing even more brightly than the stage lights above.

The new lights then shot off of the stage and they each travelled over to particular cast member. One of the lights shot directly into Gwen, and suddenly the goth feline was enveloped in a beautiful golden light. The golden light seemed to swell and grow around her until it popped like a gigantic bubble and revealed Gwen, transformed back into her human form.

The same process repeated all over the area as the teens' human essences gladly made their way back to their original owners. The kids began to cheer and even Chris and Chef were both sobbing and hugging each other in relief. However, things quickly quieted down, everyone noticed that Duncan and Courtney were the only ones who had not transformed back as well.

Courtney turned to Duncan and said, "Duncan… what…" while he simultaneously said, "Courtney… I…" But both teens suddenly felt a crippling knot in their stomachs when they heard a familiar voice say, "THIS ISN'T OVER!"

Everyone's head turned to find the source of the voice, and the teens all gaped in horror as they saw the Duncan doll, despite being greatly tattered and ripped, limping towards them. The Duncan doll began to glow a sickly purple and then opened his mouth in a silent scream. From the doll's mouth, a circular, purple portal formed with a pair of blood red eyes staring out from within.

Demon Duncan's voice echoed from within the portal, "**Even if we can't take steal human essences in your world, we still have enough power to drag your souls in our own! Now the only question is… who shall I take first?**"

A/N: God, there are too many thing that I could say about this, but I guess the key thing is that you guys see that this ending part connects right back to the Duncan doll opening the portal in Chp 20 of the Princess and the Spider. I did not want to rewrite Strix's story, but simply create this as the lost chapter she never had a chance to write. Sorry that I couldn't go into detail about EVERYONE, but that would have honestly taken too much time and would have probably given me grey hair. As I'm sure most of you have realized, the owl that helped Beth is based off of the original author, while the male owl is based off of me (Only Strix will get why I chose the name Wind _Rider_). Anyway, as a little treat for you guys, I have a surprise. Even though you would have to read or already be familiar with Strix's story to see what happens next, I'm actually going to create an epilogue based off of this one-shot. It won't nearly be as big as this monster, but it will tie up a few points that I feel will cement me putting my personal spin on this beautiful story. Anyway _**PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS**_, as this is one of the longest things I have ever written! Also, since Strix is a Disney fan, there are one or two Disney references throughout this part. See if you can spot them all!

Here's also a helpful list of all the traits that the demons had:

Beth = slug eyes

Bridgette = webbed hands and a fin on her head

Cody = large tusks

Courtney = whipping tentacle hair

DJ = super buff arms

Duncan = 6 arms

Eva = clawed hands

Zeke = prehensile tail

Geoff = crab claws

Gwen = spews slime from hair

Harold = long arms, long legs

Heather = projectile finger nails

Izzy = hammer fist

Justin = eyes all over

Katie = blade top w/ Sadie

LeShawna = spines all over body

Lindsay = antennae and mouth pincers

Noah = long frog tongue

Owen = huge mouth with sharp teeth

Sadie = blade top w/ Katie

Trent = mantis blades

Tyler = scorpion tail

Chef = ram-horns

Chris = shell protected


	3. Chapter 3

The Lost Chapter of The Princess and the Spider Epilogue:

A/N: This epilogue takes place after the ending of Strix Moonwing's The Princess and the Spider. It keeps in mind, some of the themes I explored in my lost chp and even though it was a bit of extra work, I'm very glad I did this. Basically, it's composed of three parts that focus first on Tyler and Lindsay, next on Noah, Katie, and Sadie (with a hint of the owls Strix and Wind Rider), and finally the last part deals with Heather, Courtney, and Justin. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, but I love it anyway.

Lindsay was sitting on the stage, fiddling absentmindedly with her drink, while staring up at the sky. The kids had beaten the demons, broken the curse, and had gotten their happy ending… well mostly.

Tyler approached the beautiful blonde and tentatively asked, "Linds? What's the matter?"

Lindsay looked up to him, and stared blankly at him for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she said, "Oh! Tyler it's you!"

"Yeah Linds. Heh, it looks like you're getting better at recognizing me."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh… never mind. Anyway, I saw you and you looked kinda bummed out? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah… I mean I'm glad that Darren and Carrie got their prize and those mean demony things are gone, but… I'm just a little sad that I never got a chance to thank Mr. Chicken for saving me."

Tyler stared at his girlfriend for a moment, before he chuckled and said, "Well, why don't you tell me what you would've told him. I'll make sure he hears it next time I see him."

Lindsay nodded her head enthusiastically and said, "That's a great idea! Okay, let's see… I wanted to thank Mr. Chicken for looking after me while you were gone."

"It was nothing. I mean… it was nothing for Mr. Chicken. He would have guarded you with his life."

"That's just the thing. I know that I'm not smart like that meanie Heather. I mean, it was my fault those demon things caught Mr. Chicken and me because I thought I chipped a nail."

"That was kinda weird, since you didn't have hands at the time…"

"How did you know I didn't have hands?"

"Uh, Mr. Chicken told me."

"Oh, okay. Anyway, there was this one scary monster, who looked like he was about to eat me, but then Mr. Chicken beat him up and saved me."

"So what's the matter then?"

"Please don't get mad Tyler, but I kind of think I might have felt something for him. I imagined us getting married and raising little easter eggs together, but after Mr. Chicken left and you came back, I realized that the only reason I liked him so much was that he reminded me of you."

"Aw Linds that's…. wait did you just say 'raise easter eggs'?"

"Yeah, when a chicken and a hare get married and that's how easter eggs are made, isn't it?"

Tyler just stared at her for a moment, and then he began to giggle and said, "Sure, why not."

"Anyway, I saw Carrie and Darren dressed in those pretty clothes and I felt kind of bad, because I wished that I was princess too, but then I thought about it, and I realized that I shouldn't feel bad because even though I make so many mistakes and sometimes say the wrong thing… you always make me feel like a princess."

Tyler smiled and said, "You don't need pretty clothes Linds. You're always so nice and sweet, and even if you make mistakes, you always still manage to show everybody that you play like a real all-star."

"Oh Tyler…" said Lindsay as she drew closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She then whispered in his ear, "I hope that I never forget tonight."

"Don't worry Lindsay, even if you do, I'll be there to remind you."

xoxoxox

Noah was standing by the snack table, when Katie and Sadie walked by. Noah's eyes bulged when he saw that on each of the girls' shoulders was a Spotted Owl. He then said, "Uh… okay, I'll bite, what's with the birds."

Katie turned and said, "Oh, hi Noah! These two owls really helped us out with fighting the demons and they were carrying me and Sadie around on their backs for a long time, so we thought we'd return the favor."

Sadie then chimed in, "Besides, we promised Wind Rider that we'd let him try some human food if he helped us." Sadie then picked up a cheese puff from the table and held it up to the owl on her shoulder. The dark brown owl inched towards it, sniffed it for a moment, and then chomped down on it.

As the crunchy texture and artificial cheese flavoring danced upon his tongue, the owl's eyes widened and he let out an ecstatic hoot. He then jumped off of Sadie's shoulder and dived headfirst into the bowl of cheese puffs.

Strix Moonwing rolled her eyes, hopped off of Katie's shoulder, and then said to Wind Rider, "When we get back home, you're going to fly ten laps around the forest to work off all this human food."

Wind Rider picked up a cheese puff with his claw and passed it to Strix, who nibbled on it and he then responded, "It's totally worth it."

Katie giggled at the two owls, and then she turned to Noah and said, "Sadie and I heard that one of those monster things made you sing and dance a lot."

Noah groaned and then said, "It's not an experience I'd like to discuss anytime soon."

"Well, Sadie and I were wondering if maybe you could show us one of the dances you did, pretty please with maple syrup on top?"

Noah looked at the two girls incredulously. What on Earth would possibly make them think he would agree to that? He glowered at the two of them, but then he saw by their expressions that they weren't making fun of him, but that their request was genuinely sincere."

Noah sighed and thought to himself, "Well, I've already done it about a hundred times today. Why not one more time?"

Noah turned to Ezekiel and said, "Maestro, put it in C flat."

Ezekiel looked at Noah in disbelief and said, "What the heck are you talking about eh? I can't play piano."

Trent happened to walk by and said, "I've got you covered bro," and then he began to strum a few chords on his guitar, and Noah began to do a tap routine. It was a simple dance, but somehow the sarcastic know-it-all managed to appear both graceful and actually kind of charming.

As Trent's song ended, Noah did a quick spin and then dipped into a bow. Katie and Sadie stared at him for a second before breaking out into applause and cheering. Katie ran up to Noah and said, "Wow, you're amazing! Why didn't you ever show anybody you could do that?"

"Uh… I kind of didn't know I had it in me. I guess it took an insane demoness threatening me with disembowelment to bring it out."

Katie continued, "You're totally a natural…"

Sadie chimed in, "So talented!"

Noah took in the scene before him, and thought about it for minute. Usually Katie and Sadie were known for their annoying droning, but then again, it wasn't everyday that two girls were fawning over him.

Noah linked arms with the two talky girls and said, "Ladies, why don't we continue this two-part monologue over a couple of root beers?"

Katie and Sadie both giggled and walked with Noah, while Trent looked on and said, "Hehe, way to go dude."

xoxoxoxo

Heather was continuing to thrash around over the pool, causing poor Justin to feel sick as he swayed over the water with her. Heather then froze as she heard the light clicking of shoes against the floor by the pool and yelled, "FINALLY! I thought you jerks were going to leave me tied to this moron all night!"

Heather managed to twist around and see that it was Courtney who had arrived, still dressed in her full princess regalia since returning to human form. The CIT princess looked up, with an irritated expression on her face and said, "With all the trouble you've put us through in the last few days, it's a wonder that we even untie you at all! However, since this whole ordeal has actually worked out for the best for Duncan and me, I felt that we might as well let bygones be bygones."

Heather rolled her eyes and snapped, "How magnanimous of you. Now could you spare us the speech and get us down from here!"

Courtney raised Duncan's switchblade and said mischievously, "Alright, since you asked so _nicely_." With that, she sliced through the rope and the two dangling teens feel directly into the pool below.

Heather let out a screech as she fell and once she hit the water, the ropes loosened and she swam fervently to the surface. Heather gasped for air as she rose from the water and then made her way to the edge of the pool.

After she climbed out, she turned to Courtney and hissed, "This isn't over. Next season you're going down, and I wouldn't need magic to do it either!" The beautiful bald girl then stomped away, desperate for a towel and a warm bed after this whole ordeal.

Courtney heard a splash behind her and turned to see Justin emerge from the pool. He approached her and said, "Couldn't you have convinced those other guys not to tie me up with Heather? I mean I did help you find out about the demons' weakness to light."

"Yes, but you also DID help Heather with this whole mess AND try to steal Duncan's prize… but thank you for your help. We wouldn't have known how to defeat the demons if it hadn't been for you."

Courtney then turned to head back to party when Justin called out to her and said, "Hey! Uh…"

Courtney looked back at him and said, "Yes?"

"I… I know you're with Duncan now. The whole magical kiss thing kinda proved that, but I've been thinking about what you said about love in the forest and…"

Before Courtney could even register what was happening, Justin leaned in and gave her a kiss upon the cheek. Courtney looked at him with utter shock on her face as he said, "If things don't work out between you and Prince Not-So-Charming… give me a call sometime."

Justin then headed back to hotel, while Courtney stood frozen in place. After he had left, Courtney raised her gloved hand and placed it upon the spot where he had kissed her.

She then lifted her hand from her face and stared at it for a moment. A small smile spread across her lips and she turned to head back to the party, resolving to herself to dance with Duncan for the rest of the night.

A/N: I know. You're all looking at me like I'm crazy for throwing in a little JxC at the end of this. Don't worry folks, Courtney still knows that the only man for her is Duncan, but I wanted her conversation with Justin to mean something significant. The poor guy has only known love for his beauty, so for him to actually find someone who doesn't care about that, confuses him to no end, yet also fascinates him. I wanted to show that he knows Courtney is taken, but also highlights that she has expanded his viewpoint on what love truly is. Maybe she was his first love or maybe he's just thankful to her for having made the world a little clearer to him, but either way, I felt a kiss was the perfect way to end it. I hope you have all enjoyed this, because I will be focusing on schoolwork for the next couple of weeks. I will still be around to chat on Formspring, but I might not be able to update my stories for a while. The best thing you guys can do is LEAVE REVIEWS and pray for me to do well in my exams. Thank you so much for reading this and I'm eternally grateful to you all.


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